Bingo Fill: Retreat to Regroup

[entropy-house.livejournal.com]

Retreat to Regroup (2036 words) by AnonEhouse
Rating: Gen
Warnings:None
Universe: MCU AU
Genre:Fluffy, General, AU

Synopsis -Fury sends Steve and Tony to a cabin in the woods as a team building exercise.

A fill for the 'Vacation' square on my Bingo card.



"You can't just let Stark flounce off like that," Fury told Steve. He was bent over the engine of a riding mower, dressed as a landscaper. Steve was peering over his shoulder as if out of curiosity. Stark's ridiculous orange car was still visible in the distance in the road beyond the facility.

Steve raised his eyebrows. "I don't take orders from ghosts."

"You don't take orders from anyone," Fury said. He scowled up at Steve. "Take it as advice from someone who knew Howard Stark a lot longer than you did. That kid of his needs direction. And you. You need to loosen up. Stark was actually good for you, the little pain in the ass."

Steve's eyebrows climbed higher. "Being dead has given you a sense of humor."

"Being dead has given me perspective."

"Fine. What do you suggest? He's not a soldier, I can't tell him what to do. He wants to take his ball and go home, that's it, game over. He doesn't care if the poor kids can't play."

Fury tilted his head. "Huh. You hear yourself?"

Steve blinked. "It was just a figure of speech."

"Uh huh. Rich, poor, makes no difference to you, sure it doesn't." Fury tossed an oily rag on top of the engine. "Personally, I don't give a rat's behind. I just gotta get the best outta my people. Hate to see potential wasted, 'specially these days."

"Yeah." Steve looked at the vanishing orange speck. "Well, Stark'll show up if we need him. He won't be able to resist."

"That's no way to build a team."

"Like I said, what do you suggest?"

"He's talking about buying a farm." Fury pulled an envelope out of his pocket and held it out. "Don't have a farm, but this might do for a trial run. It's a cabin in the mountains, isolated, quiet, no technology. A man can hear himself think."

Steve didn't take the envelope. "I can't take the time. I have a team to train."

"You're never gonna have the time. Let them have a week to get to know each other, while you and Stark work things out."

"I'll never get him to agree."

Fury grinned. "You leave that to me. You just go to the cabin and stay a week. Whichever one of you gives up and leaves first, loses."

"You're on." Steve took the envelope. "But it won't work. Five minutes without his computers and he'll be climbing the walls."

"We'll see." Fury put the hood back on the mower and climbed into the seat. "Gotta get back to work. Nice talking to you, Captain."




"WOAH," Tony said. He pulled off his sunglasses and looked first at Steve, and then at the neat cabin. It wasn't a rustic Abe Lincoln type, but a neat, modern version with huge windows, plywood interior and corrugated metal and horizontal wood exterior. It was also very small. "This isn't a farm."

"Yeah." Steve looked up from chopping wood. "Got a nice view, though. You can see the lake from inside, or climb up on top and watch the stars."

Tony winced slightly. "I'll take your word for it." He walked around and tugged on the plywood, opening it to reveal a single bare room, furnished with two folding chairs and a drop leaf table set into the wall. "This is nuts."

"There's a Murphy bed." Steve went to the far wall, which wasn't all that far, and pulled. The wall folded down into a bed, made up with sheets and thick red blankets.

"All the comforts of home, if you're a bear." Tony frowned. "Pepper sent me. Said something about proving I could rough it for a week. She even had me leave behind my Starkphone. I've got a Motorola about as intelligent as a brick."

"Oh." Steve felt awkward. "Fury sent me. I'm still not sure why I agreed."

"Fury. The bastard's not dead. Should have known. Oh, God, he's talking to Pepper? I hope they're not planning world domination." Tony looked at the bed and then around the cabin. "I had a long ride, and I drank a lot of coffee. Where's the john? I hope it's not one of those disgusting port-o-lets."

"Nope, you're in luck." Steve went over to a backpack lying on the floor and opened it. He pulled out a roll of toilet paper. "There's plenty of bushes."

"I hate you." Tony grabbed the toilet paper and walked outside.

"You can always leave," Steve said. He shouldered the ax and returned to chopping wood. "Fury didn't think you'd make it a week."

Tony made a rude gesture over his shoulder. "And a double helping for Fury. Pepper wants me to do this, I'll do it."




"What do we do when it gets dark?" Tony remarked on his return.

"Sleep." Steve finished arranging the wood to his satisfaction inside a ring of rocks and used flint and steel to start it on fire.

"This is going to be so much fun." Tony held his hands out to the fire.

"I'm laughing already."

"Didn't you at least bring marshmallows?"

"What part of roughing it don't you get?"

"The whole part. We've both been cold and hungry and miserable. We both know how to ignore it and keep going. I don't see that we're going to learn anything new from doing it voluntarily."

Steve tilted his head in agreement. "It's not about that. Fury wants us to learn to work together. Not just in the heat of battle. And I guess he's got a point. We don't really know each other. For all we said we're friends, it's not true. Not yet."

"I said I was done with Avenging."

Steve poked at the fire with a stick.

"I said..."

"I know what you said." Steve shoved the stick into the fire. "And I told myself that when the war was over, I'd walk away. But we can't. It follows us. You know that. We walk away and someone dies, and it's our fault for not being there."

"It's our fault when we're there and we're not enough, or we just... make mistakes."

"Ultron wasn't your mistake. I believe you. You said it wasn't done. If you had made Ultron it would have turned out like Vision, like Jarvis."

Tony blinked. "You didn't think so before."

"I didn't realize it until after I met Vision. Vision, Jarvis, even your Dummy-- they're all good people. The only way Ultron could turn out a killer was if someone, something, else messed with him."

Tony was silent for a long time. "Thanks. I don't know if I believe you, but thanks."

Steve opened the backpack and pulled out a chocolate bar. "Here, these Doves are pretty good."

Tony smiled. "Thanks again."




"There's only one bed, no matter where you look, Stark." Steve had stripped down to his underpants before he realized Tony was making no move to follow.

"I think I'll just sleep in my car."

"Don't be ridiculous, you'll wreck your back." Steve scratched his belly. "You sure can't do it for a week." The moment the words were out of his mouth, he knew how Stark would respond. One way the both of them was alike was their inability to resist a dare.

"Yeah, no, it'll be fine. Good night, Cap."

"Good night."




Steve woke, and lay still, assessing. Something had wakened him. The windows were a slightly lighter shade of dark against the total black. He reached out and found his cell phone by feel, turning it on to use the light to find his way to the opening. He padded outside without bothering to dress or reach for his shield. He stood there a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the sky glow. The nights weren't as dark as they used to be, he'd heard it was called 'light pollution' and could be reflected by particles in the air hundreds of miles from cities. Or heck, maybe it was the glow of the Milky Way. He was a practical man, and just accepted that he could see well enough not to walk into a tree or stumble over a large rock.

There was a noise. He turned. Stark's orange car was visible and he could see movement inside it. He went over to the car. One window was slightly open. Stark was sitting in the driver's seat, leaning back. Steve suddenly realized the car didn't even have a back seat or really, any place to store luggage. It was pretty much a slightly larger version of the Iron Man suit, he thought, but without the weapony or flight capability. Probably. This was Tony Stark after all.

The noise repeated. Tony was having a bad dream, a full blown nightmare, judging from his twitching and the rapid breathing. He was moving more, and Steve thought he'd start flailing and who knew what would happen if he hit the controls in this absurd car. "Hey, Stark? Tony? Wake up. Wake up!"

Tony's eyes opened wide, the whites startling even in the dimness. "Whu... happen..."

Steve tried the door. It wasn't locked. He opened it. "You were about to break your pretty car." Tony shook his head, clearly still not fully awake. "You can't sleep here. Really." He put his hand on Tony's shoulder and urged him out of the car. "Bed." Tony stumbled along with him, not resisting. He had changed into a loose t-shirt and sweatpants which Steve felt was plenty for modesty or whatever other reasons he had for resisting sharing the bed before.

Tony woke up when Steve sat him on the bed. "Hey." He scrubbed his hand over his face. "Yeah. That happens. Pepper..." Tony shook his head. "She can't sleep with me any more."

"You don't have to tell me anything personal."

"No? Isn't that what Fury wants?" Tony stood up and started pacing, a dim shadow, black against black. "We're supposed to be braiding friendship bracelets and singing Kumbaya around the campfire. I can't... I don't want to do this."

"We don't have to. We can go back in the morning. Fury doesn't own our souls and I'm sure Pepper will understand."

Tony took a deep breath. "She understands. It's just. I don't know what will be the last straw, you get it? I don't want to lose her. I'd do anything for her, but it's not enough. It's like I had a chance at happiness, but I can't... I can't stand by and let things go to hell, and that...it's hard on her. I'm gonna lose her. You know how bad that hurts?"

Steve felt like he'd been punched in the chest. "Yeah. I know. Ok, see, what we'll do here, we'll work this out. Pepper's worried because you don't have any backup. You just go lone wolf and hey, you're tough, sure, but working as a team, that... we look out for each other. We can do this, together."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. In the morning we'll talk, and we'll figure it out. Fury's right about one thing, we are better together. Remember New York? The way I didn't even have to think when you aimed your repulsors at my shield? We couldn't have done that without cooperation."

"God, I hate corporate retreat team building activities."

"We'll make it fun." Steve nudged at Tony's shoulder. "We'll make it a real vacation. Wanna play frisbee?"

"Oh, yeah. It's on, old man." Steve could hear the smirk in Tony's voice. "So, friends?"

"Yeah, friends." Steve got into the other side of the bed and lay down. "Go to sleep."

"Bossy," Tony muttered, but he lay down beside Steve. "Don't kill me if I punch you in my sleep."

"Nah. You can't be half as bad as Bucky. He was all elbows and knees as a kid. If I didn't kill him then, I won't kill you now."

Tony said, sleepily, "You miss him."

"Every day."

"I'll help you find him. And you can help me look for Bruce. They shouldn't be out on their own."

"You got a deal. Now, go to sleep."

Steve lay awake for a while, thinking. Fury was right, damn it.




The cabin.

Interior/exterior video of 2016 Audi R8- Basically, it's a metal shoe. Well, pair of shoes, there are 2 seats.

Photo prompt #52 from http://tonysteve.tumblr.com/ (a long inactive tumblr) (Marvel Cinematic Universe- Fury sends Tony and Steve to spend a week in a cabin in the woods away from any technology as a team building exercise.)